Auditions

Audition FAQ

What should I expect when I visit to audition? Audition days start around 9 a.m. with a reception for prospective students and their
families. Throughout the morning there are scheduled activities, such as a brief recital
featuring USC students, a question and answer session with the Dean, and optional
tours of campus and the Music Community, a residential area for incoming music majors
and minors. Auditions start around 11 a.m. and run throughout the day, and practice
rooms are available for warming up and rehearsing. Students are assigned a specific
audition time when they arrive to check-in at our registration desk between 9 a.m.
and 9:30 a.m.

If you have registered for an audition, we’ll send you a final schedule of your audition
day's events about 10 days before your selected audition date.

Where can I get help planning my trip to USC? The USC Visitor Center is a helpful resource for planning a trip to the university.
The center has lists of hotels and restaurants and information on local sights. You
can find this on the Visitor Center’s website or call 1-800-922-9755. The School of Music building is located at 813 Assembly Street,
very close to the Visitor Center and next to the Koger Center for the Arts.

Directions to the School of Music, 813 Assembly Street, Columbia, SC 29208.

I can’t make any of the audition dates. How can I schedule another date and time to
audition? It is highly recommended that students audition on one of the pre-arranged campus
dates, as the audition dates offer prospective students and their families numerous
information sessions, as well as optional tours of campus and the Music Community,
a residential hall for music majors and minors. If attendance at one of these dates
isn’t possible due to extenuating circumstance, please contact the director of music
admission, Jennifer Jablonski; 803.777.6614).

Live auditions are preferred, but recorded auditions are accepted from students who
live outside of South Carolina campus and who are unable to make arrangements to travel
to audition. Recorded auditions should be received no later than the last scheduled
audition date. Please note that it is to a student's advantage to audition in person
if at all possible, as we can much better assess students' talent and potential in
person.

How many students earn music scholarships? In what areas are music scholarships awarded? About two-thirds of USC music students have been awarded a music scholarship from
USC. USC music scholarships, which require terms of service to ensembles and additional
course requirements, are awarded on the basis of merit only.

Out-of-state students who earn a scholarship of at least $250 a semester are eligible
for a heavily reduced tuition rate as long as they meet minimum academic requirements.

Scholarships are offered in the areas of brass, composition, guitar, jazz, organ,
percussion, piano, strings, voice and woodwinds. All students are automatically reviewed
for scholarship funds as long as they audition on or before the last scheduled audition
date of the audition cycle.

May I audition on more than one instrument? Can I schedule a regular audition and
a jazz one on the same day? Music applicants may also schedule a jazz audition and/or an audition on a strong
secondary instrument – including voice – for additional music scholarship consideration.
Let us know of your interest in having two or more auditions when you register or
email Jennifer Jablonski with information about what additional auditions you would like to perform.

How do I get reviewed for admission to be a composition major?Plan to audition for us on your primary instrument, as all music majors, including
composition majors, must be admitted to the School of Music via audition. On the day
you audition, you’ll also have an interview scheduled with the composition faculty
at which time your portfolio will be reviewed.

I have questions that I don’t see answered here. Who can address them for me? Questions about the School of Music auditions and music admissions should be directed
to: Jennifer Jablonski, director of music admissions, by email or by calling 803.777.6614.